2022 Pashnit Touring on a Hayabusa

[pashnit]

2022 Pashnit Touring on a Hayabusa

Well kids, would you like to come with me on another 11,000-mile journey on the Hayabusa?
2022 ride season kicks off today, and we are headed for Death Valley once more.

Want to dig in, go here: Pashnit Motorcycle Tours in California | 2022 Pashnit Tour Season Booking Now
Every tour I'm offering this year in 2022 is sold out, but we go to a waitlist, and it's not unusual for a rider to cancel due to unforeseen circumstance. Things have a tendency to always balance out.

My schedule looks like this:
Mar 11, 2022 - DEATH VALLEY
Apr 08, 2022 - SEQUOIA #1
Apr 22, 2022 - PARKFIELD
May 06, 2022 - SEQUOIA #2
May 27, 2022 - RACE DAY
Jun 17, 2022 - SIERRA NEVADA
Jul 15, 2022 - COAST RANGE
Aug 05, 2022 - THE PACIFIC
Aug 19, 2022 - CLASSIC NORCAL
Sep 23, 2022 - MYSTERY TOUR
Oct 07, 2022 - TRAIN TOUR
Oct 21, 2022 - SANTA BARBARA

And some of these tours overlap with last year's ride season, so if some photos look familiar, AND you followed along for the journey last year in 2021, it's because I usually offer a motorcycle tour I've designed at least 2-3 years in a row with different groups of riders. Sometimes the same riders will even sign up for the same tours I've designed a second year in a row and ride it twice.

Motorcycle tours I design have a shelf life of 2-3 years, and then I've got to design something new. Some are so good, so perfect, and so well-loved by the riders, we do them every year over and over.

Also started planning for my 20th Anniversary year of Pashnit Motorcycle Tours. 20 years in business. 20 years of travel on a Hayabusa.

Tentative ride schedule for 2023:
Feb 17, 2023 - BITTERWATER
Mar 10, 2023 - DEATH VALLEY
Mar 24, 2023 - PAICINES
Apr 14, 2023 - PARKFIELD #1
Apr 28, 2023 - PARKFIELD #2
May 05, 2023 - SEQUOIA
May 26, 2023 - RACE TOUR
Jun 16, 2023 - SIERRA LAKES
Jul 14, 2023 - COAST RANGE
Aug 04, 2023 - SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN
Aug 18, 2023 - NORTH COAST
Sept 08, 2023 - NEVADA
Sep 22, 2023 - MYSTERY TOUR
Oct 06, 2023 - HIGHLANDS
Oct 20, 2023 - CENTRAL COAST

Bike is ready to ride, maintenance complete. New tires & oil seem about all I ever do to this bike. I did the chain & sprockets last year and threw in a new battery. All good.
Time to hit some local roads in the Sierra Foothills and blow the cobwebs out.

 

[pashnit]

 

[pashnit]

 

[pashnit]

Ready for the 2022 tour season to begin.

 

[sixpack577]

...if I didn't have a 6k mile round trip to do these I'de be there every year.
They look awesome in the pics.
Maybe one day.

 

[georgiabusa_05]

...if I didn't have a 6k mile round trip to do these I'de be there every year.
They look awesome in the pics.
Maybe one day.

Same here. Bucket list.

 

[Hayabusa4life]

Very cool, nice pictures

 

[pashnit]

I've been counting down this ride for many weeks, so it's with great relief that the tour season is here and back on the bike.

Over the winter, I was diagnosed with Vikings Disease. Something I've never heard of. I have heard of Trigger Finger, my ride buddy had that and this is something similar, but not the same.

Aka Dupuytren's contracture, this odd affliction is where I couldn't straighten my finger anymore and abnormal connective tissue is growing on the ligament of the finger inside the palm. Doc says options are: you can ignore it, and it's not painful, but it'll never heal or fix itself, and it could get worse. I opted for surgery, and the surgeon cuts your palm open and cleans out all the excess fibrosis growing on the ligament. Of course, my only concern was could I ride by March? Plus, this had to be done during the off-season, so surgery doesn't interfere with the riding season.

Vikings Disease generally only afflicts men over 50 of northern European or Scandinavian descent, and I've got a lot of that. Good news is surgery was simple and the huge zigzag cut in my palm over the ligament healed really fast, about a month and very little scaring on the palm.

Had the surgery in February and able to get my gloves on by early March.

Let's ride.

 

[pashnit]

Four-hour ride to the meeting spot the night before to meet the guys.
Got 50 mpg on the ride down. What 194-hp bike does that?

Next morning

Small group this ride, I limited this group to just ten bikes.

 

[pashnit]

Small Central Valley California towns, these are all farming communities

This region was miles and miles of orange trees

More oranges as we head for the mountains

 

[pashnit]

Straights evolve

to turns, twists and elevation changes

This is northern Kern County, south of Porterville and well north of Bakersfield.
Still spring here, so it's green, green, green! Gorgeous this time of year.

 

[pashnit]

Rolling hills

 

[pashnit]

Old Stage Rd, Jack Ranch Rd, headed for Glennville

Zero people out there, we rode the first hour and saw almost no one once in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

 

[pashnit]

 

[pashnit]

Gary is one of my new guys, he first joined us last year

Matt & I have ridden a lot together, but job opportunities took him to New Mexico. He found a ST1300 for $4000 in California, so he flew out to see the bike. And take it on this ride. He's keeping one ST1300 in California for these tours, one in Las Vegas for his son, and one in NM to ride himself locally. Yes, he's got three ST1300's.

Phil bought this Aprilia RS660 brand new and set it up for touring. His SV650 with 100k+ miles is his track bike.

 

[pashnit]

Reminders. Don't forget.

 

[pashnit]

Glennville

Takes us to Highway 155 to get over the Sierra Range to the other side, we have to get over that snow in the distance, only 6100 ft, Greenhorn Summit is a lower pass, but can very dirty from sanding

 

[pashnit]

Climbing

Forest fire came through here last year

Dirty, but not much snow is good, for us at least

 

[pashnit]

Along the shores of Lake Isabella

Headed into the Eastern Sierra, terrain steadily changes to desert

 

[pashnit]